


Pup in Need of Preening

by Kalira



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, Hatake Kakashi Is Trying, Hurt/Comfort, Kakashi Week, Kakashi Week 2020, Minor Injuries, Sparring, Uchiha Sasuke Being an Asshole, Wingfic, preening
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26366920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalira/pseuds/Kalira
Summary: All of team seven are growing well with their sensei's lessons (even when he's not the best at explaining the basics) and Sakura perhaps particularly, even enjoying it as she grows as a ninja! Sasuke . . . is not taking her improvement well. Kakashi-sensei has to step in, in more than one way.
Relationships: Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi
Comments: 17
Kudos: 235
Collections: Kakashi Week 2020, Kalira's Kakashi Week Stories (2020)





	Pup in Need of Preening

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Kakashi Week](https://kakashiweek.tumblr.com/post/623757588975190016/kakashi-week-2020-prompts), Day 2: Sensei

Sakura set her jaw and dropped back into position, knees bent, hands up, wings angled. She didn’t _want_ to fight Sasuke, but-

She glanced sideways at their sensei, idly supervising Naruto’s cooldown stretches while he watched them spar. Kakashi-sensei was right, if she didn’t _practise_ then she wouldn’t get better, and . . . well, they were a _team_. They were _supposed_ to help each other.

Sasuke lunged and Sakura dodged, the sneer on his face - not the fierce anger he had faced Naruto with, or even the disinterest she was used to from Sasuke, but something ugly and mean - shaking her. Not enough to keep her from following through - it was a textbook attack and counter, and while Sakura could feel that she hadn’t put enough power into the kick, it connected smoothly.

Sakura had listened closely to Kakashi’s explanations about feeling one’s body, and how important it was - knowing when to listen and when it was safe to push the limits was a vital cornerstone for a ninja’s skills. Naruto had listened eagerly and asked questions - a few of which Sakura had tactfully explained for him as Kakashi-sensei returned his blank look, both of them seemingly equally confused from opposite ends with no idea how to bridge the gap of understanding - and they had been working on exercises to help with that awareness for over a week.

Kakashi-sensei had seemed to be lost for words sometimes working through the exercises with them, but they had made sense to Sakura quickly enough even when his explanations occasionally faltered. Sakura flipped backwards onto her hands, tucking her wings in tight as her back bent. Her wrists throbbed, but not dangerously; Sakura had learned very well and she had always known her body and its responses.

She sprang up once more, flicking her wings out, and twisted to aim a quick punch at the side of Sasuke’s head as he gave chase. It connected with his wing instead, and he grunted, though it hadn’t been very hard as he moved forwards under it, her fist skating over his feathers down the outside slope of his wing.

Sasuke whirled, snapping his wing out and catching Sakura in the stomach; she flew backwards off her feet, landing hard on her backside and kicking out to regain her feet before he was on her. Sakura struggled to catch her breath, bringing her knee up and slamming it into Sasuke’s hip. It sent him sideways - only half a step, but it was enough to give her space, and Sakura shifted her position to take advantage of it, wings spreading wider for balance, angled up to keep out of the way.

They danced around each other, neither landing a blow for a while, and Sakura realised she was almost . . . having _fun_. She laughed a little as she leapt high, flapping her wings once to gain a little more lift before she hit the ground again, rising to the ball of one foot and whirling, cutting one wing down as a counterbalance to give her more speed as she raised the other foot and lashed out hard. It connected, but-

Sakura yelped as Sasuke caught hold of her wing and _wrenched_ , sending a hot, stabbing pain through her. It didn’t cause any damage - but the warning strain in her back told Sakura that if she hadn’t let herself go to one knee to ease Sasuke’s pull on her, it would have. She winced, her free wing snapping wider, her whole body twisting and thrashing in an attempt to get herself out of his grip, which tightened and sent another bolt of pain lancing through her.

Sasuke stomped on the back of her calf and Sakura went down again, biting her lip hard so she didn’t scream as she felt at least one feather - it felt like a handful, but surely not so many - rip free of her skin. Sakura put one hand down in the grass and lashed out backwards with a foot, inhaling sharply as Sasuke stumbled, but kept his feet and caught at her feathers again; they rustled and she heard the soft crackling crunch of feather shafts breaking.

Pain spiked through her wing, flaring at her back where it joined to her shoulder blade, and Sakura struggled to rise even as Sasuke caught hold of her other wing as well. The stinging pain lighting through both wings and the feeling of being trapped, grounded, _kept down_ kept her mind spinning and her heart racing as she gasped.

“Yah! Sasuke-teme, stop-” Naruto began shouting, though Sakura missed most of what he was saying as her head pounded, “-to Sakura-chan!”

Sakura grit her teeth and braced her hands on the ground before her, letting herself collapse lower, then _shoved_ chakra to her palms as she moved up again. She beat her wings, just to the edge of straining muscles, which burned from the effort, and slammed her body into Sasuke’s, immediately dropping her wings and lashing out, the side of her hand connecting with Sasuke’s wrist.

Sasuke made a half-stifled yelp of his own and Sakura fought to her feet, limbs twitching, back and wings _aching_ \- she couldn’t quite pull them up and in as she wanted to, but kept moving anyway, whirling to face her teammate. He glared, sneering again, teeth bared, and Sakura’s stomach knotted as she balanced on the balls of her feet, moving back.

Sasuke lunged, and-

“Let Sakura-chan _go_.” Kakashi-sensei said, his voice low and even and very calm. Sasuke’s fingers spasmed on the edge of Sakura’s wing, which he had just caught hold of once more, and then he let go. As soon as his grip had loosened Kakashi-sensei hauled him back by the collar of his shirt, giving him a shake. Kakashi-sensei caught Naruto in the chest with the opposite elbow, pushing him away before he could pounce on Sasuke.

Naruto huffed as he was shoved back, then turned to Sakura. “Sakura-chan! Are you all right?” He darted towards her. “Ouh! You’re bleeding!” he yelped, and Sakura winced, shifting her wings and biting back a cry. It _hurt_ , moving them. Even more than they already hurt when she held still.

“What was that?” Kakashi-sensei demanded, shaking Sasuke again, just barely lifting him off his feet as he pulled away, wings flapping sloppily. “She is your _teammate_!”

“We were _sparring_.” Sasuke snapped, and Kakashi-sensei _snarled_.

Naruto froze, his hands just brushing Sakura’s feathers. Sakura smiled weakly and Naruto grinned, just a bit wobbly at the edges, and gently helped push her wings into place up along her back. She bit back a hiss of pain - it wasn’t Naruto’s fault; he was sometimes clumsy, yes, but he could be careful when it was important, and he was almost always gentle with her - and shifted to inspect herself as best she could.

Even preoccupied with her check of her badly ruffled feathers, and the aches throbbing in her wings, she couldn’t help but hear Kakashi-sensei’s sharp, scathing words as he dressed Sasuke down for his actions in their spar.

“It was supposed to be practise.” Naruto said quietly, meeting Sakura’s eyes, frowning. “You’re not s’posed to hurt your own teammates. . .”

“Training injuries happen, and you shouldn’t hold back too much when sparring.” Kakashi-sensei said flatly, and Sakura looked up and ducked at the same time, her wings beginning to fluff up only to make her wince as the movement intensified the stinging. “You should _never_ treat a teammate so carelessly,” he continued, voice hard, “and _you_ will not be sparring with your teammates - with anyone - again until I am confident you are capable of keeping to an appropriate level.”

Sasuke snapped a protest, and Kakashi-sensei shook him by the collar again. “You could have caused Sakura-chan _serious injury_ ; the occasional training injuries are unavoidable, but you intended to cause hurt and could have compromised her ability to fly.”

Sakura shuddered at the thought, twisting enough to smooth out a few of the feathers on the inner side of her left wing. The worst of it, she knew, was on the outer side, however, and she couldn’t reach all of it on her own. What she _could_ would . . . hurt, with the way her shoulders and back and wings all ached in dull pulses.

Sakura drew herself up as Kakashi-sensei dismissed them, but she only took a single step towards the path before-

“Come here, Sakura-chan.” Kakashi-sensei said gently, his big hand warm on her shoulder. “Let me help you put these to rights. If that’s all right?”

Sakura caught her breath, then nodded her thanks in silent acceptance, and Kakashi-sensei slid his hand over her shoulders, arm resting behind them as he guided her towards the edge of the open field they’d been training in today. Sakura settled on the grass beside a small boulder, feeling a bit wobbly, knees splayed a little and wings drooping.

Kakashi-sensei sat on the rock behind her, squeezing her shoulders lightly and then helping to draw her wings out into a more comfortable angle.

Sakura held herself stiffly, prepared for it to. . .

Kakashi-sensei’s touch was almost soft as he began putting Sakura’s feathers back in order. One small pink feather fell free of the leading edge, drifting down her chest and settling on her lap. She moved her hand over to it, fingers brushing over it. It was very small, not a flight feather at all, but it had been . . . wrenched out of her wing, blood staining the quill.

Sasuke had. . .

Sakura bit her lip, fighting to hold back a sniffle. She was a _ninja_ , she reminded herself, she was better than this, stronger. But her wings really _hurt_ , though it was better now Kakashi-sensei was preening them back into their proper shape, slow and gentle. And more than only the physical hurt of it. . .

Sakura looked off towards the path Sasuke had taken, not so much as a look backwards, nor an apology, even after Kakashi-sensei’s sharp scolding - not that she thought he would have _meant_ it if he’d offered it, but he didn’t even. . .

Sakura brought her hands up against her body, chest hitching as she caught her breath and tried not to cry. He hadn’t even looked back, not so much as a hesitation - and when they were sparring he had kept-

“Ne, pup, it’s all right.” Kakashi-sensei said behind her, one hand settling on her shoulder and squeezing gently. Sakura sniffed, then stilled, eyes wide, as big silver wings folded forwards around her, shielding Sakura and brushing against her own wings. “You’ll be able to fly just fine, and the aches should ease soon.”

Sakura put one hand over her mouth and rubbed at her eyes with the other, and Kakashi-sensei’s wings folded closer, sleek and steady. Sakura pressed back closer to him and was surprised when he slid fully down off the rock behind her, settling near.

Sakura’s breath caught, and she slumped, drawing her knees up closer to her chest and leaning back into Kakashi-sensei. He stiffened, but only for a moment before he wrapped one arm around her waist and let her rest against him, his big, broad wings closing out the rest of the world. His free hand stroked lightly over Sakura’s feathers, which fluffed under the touch.

The small movement didn’t hurt so much this time, and Sakura relaxed a little more. Kakashi-sensei was steady and strong at her back, his wings a reassuring shelter arched around her. And he had stepped in and stopped Sasuke when Sakura struggled to fight back.

Sakura had _needed_ to fight back against Sasuke, despite his being her _teammate_ , and fight back in earnest. They had been sparring, but he had. . .

Sakura shuddered, and Kakashi-sensei . . . hugged her gently. “Are you all right, pup?”

Sakura sniffed, but nodded, wiping her wet eyes. “I’m fine.” she said, voice steady. “Thank you, Kakashi-sensei.” she added. “I couldn’t have. . .” She shifted her wings a little higher in illustration.

“That isn’t what I meant.” Kakashi-sensei said, rubbing his knuckles against the base of one of her wings. “I’m sorry I did not stop him quicker.”

Sakura blinked, lifting her head and turning a little, meeting Kakashi-sensei’s one sleepy eye from very close. “We were sparring.” she said slowly. “It was. . .” She couldn’t quite get out the assertion that it had been an accident; Sasuke’s angry, determined glare lingering in her mind. Sasuke had known what he was doing, had done it on purpose. He had _meant_ to hurt her.

Kakashi-sensei growled low, and Sakura sighed, closing her eyes as she slumped against Kakashi-sensei’s chest once more. It was . . . a comforting sound more than anything, though it was strange to _feel_ it, clear even through his flak vest with its bulky pockets.

She startled as Kakashi-sensei lifted her up, then giggled as she settled more comfortably against him, resting on his thigh, his own wings fluffing up a bit as he rubbed at the base of hers. The light pressure and the warmth of his hand eased the strained muscles from Sasuke’s first wrenching strike, and her wings slowly relaxed from the tense angle she hadn’t quite realised she was maintaining.

Kakashi-sensei held her there for a while, her muscles easing and the painful throb dulling further under his careful hand.

“You did well, even when your teammate overstepped the bounds of a friendly training spar.” Kakashi-sensei praised, and Sakura brightened, smiling. He folded his wings back and helped Sakura to her feet. He ran his fingers through her feathers, neatening them once more, then rested a hand on her shoulder. “Rest your wings tonight, and let me know if they feel better or are still sore in the morning before training.”

Sakura nodded obediently. “Yes, sensei.”

Kakashi-sensei patted her lightly, then nudged her forwards, hand between her wings. “Let’s get you home then.” he said, and Sakura was only a little surprised that he walked with her, arm resting across her shoulders, all the way back into the village and in a slow meander across it towards her home. His proximity kept everyone a little further away from Sakura than usual, save for one jostle that he flicked a wing out to intercept before the man with his towering box of oranges could bump into _hers_ , and Sakura leaned into him gratefully.

Kakashi-sensei smiled, patting her head, and Sakura hugged him, wings tucking closer, then stepped back. “Good night, Kakashi-sensei!”

“Good night, Sakura-chan.” Kakashi-sensei lifted a hand in a lazy wave as Sakura bowed slightly, then turned to trot up the walk to her house. When she glanced back, opening the door, he was gone - save for a faint shadow, growing fainter. She looked up just in time to see him spiral out of sight above, and smiled as she stepped inside.


End file.
